Port District of Warland, Society of Alchemists.

After letting Old John go back first, Jiang Feng walked into the hall of the association in a very low-key manner, and after inquiring about the procedures, he walked to the counter in front of the hall.

The steps to sign up for membership are simple, you only need to pay money.

A small bag of money was lost on the wooden table, and soon the formalities were completed, and Jiang Feng received an iron badge and a certificate. As the lowest-level member, not even an apprentice-level alchemist, he only has access to the books in the library for a fee.

Generally speaking, the second thing after becoming a member of the association is to find a mentor that suits him, but Jiang Feng's interest is not in those mentors, but in the association's collection of books.

Just as Jiang Feng was about to visit the Alchemist Association's book collection, he saw a large circle of people gathered at the door, looking at the bottom of the stone steps with a lively expression.

With the mentality of being curious about what was going on, Jiang Feng walked over.

I saw a thin man with curly red hair sitting on the ground, his messy robe looking very embarrassed, as if he had been kicked. Before he could stand up, two more packages smashed out of the doorway, strewn parchment with research materials scattered all over the ground, and the faint sound of glassware breaking.

"Get out of here with your garbage, the Alchemists Association will not have you as scum from now on, don't let me see you here!" Say, the old man with a majestic face snorted coldly and turned away.

Seeing that the security guard standing at the door was looking at him with a warning look, the man clenched and released his fist.

After persuading himself not to be impulsive, he finally sighed, crouched down, and silently picked up the parchment scattered on the ground.

The crowd of onlookers next to them saw that there was no good show to watch, leaving a chorus of boos and quickly dispersed.

Looking at the man at the door who was buried in packing his things, Jiang Feng's eyebrows raised slightly.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he came here, he watched a lively scene.

Out of curiosity, he casually asked an alchemy apprentice with a brass badge.

"What did he do?"

"He desecrated our technology!" With an indignant expression on his face, the apprentice seemed to be about to say something, but he glanced at Jiang Feng's chest, and after seeing the iron badge, he was slightly stunned, and then turned around and walked away with a disdainful expression.

Ignored miserably, a helpless expression appeared on Jiang Feng's face.

After thinking for a moment, he walked towards the door, ready to meet the hapless guy at the door.

He was interested in what kind of blasphemy law it was.

……

Maybe it was because he had just been dismissed, or maybe it was because he didn't have a big shelf, and when he saw someone talking to him, the red-haired man straightened up, patted the dust off his body, and cleared his throat.

"Introduce yourself, the contemptible Fielding Owen, the mentor of the Alchemy Society of Valland City...... It used to be. ”

When it came to the end, there was a subtle embarrassment on his face.

After all, the way I looked just now was really embarrassing.

However, Jiang Feng did not have the habit of poking people's sore spots, nodded slightly, and said briefly: "Jiang Feng, a wizard from Savit Port. ”

Unlike the others, after hearing his identity, Fielding Owen did not show an expression of awe or fear, but his eyes flashed with excitement.

"You, are you really the legendary wizard who defeated Solol's clone?"

"That's right," Jiang Feng nodded, "I'm curious, why were you kicked out by those people?" ”

Someone may impersonate a nobleman to cheat, but no one is stupid enough to impersonate a powerful wizard, especially since this wizard is rumored to have been in Valland recently. So Fielding didn't doubt Jiang Feng's identity, and enthusiastically opened his backpack and took out a delicate doll from it.

"Because of this!"

Facing Jiang Feng's inquiring eyes, Fielding squeezed his eyebrows and spun the clockwork behind the villain's back.

The crisp music sounded, and the wind-up little man, as if he had come to life, slowly opened his right leg, danced in the palm of Fielding Owen's palm, and hummed an unknown song softly in an ethereal voice.

Seeing a hint of surprise in Jiang Feng's eyes, Fielding said proudly.

"I guided the magic through the inscriptions, drove the gears to move the joints, and did not need the control of mental power, I just wrote the steps of the dance into the inscriptions, and the puppets could make flexible movements driven by the magic...... Look, it's amazing, isn't it? ”

There was an interested look in his eyes, looking at the clockwork villain who was flexible and excited, but the incomprehension in Jiang Feng's heart became stronger and stronger, and he couldn't help but say, "It's really amazing...... But why do those people say you're blaspheming their technology? ”

The magic flows in the line-like inscriptions, and the inscription symbols given special meanings are transformed into mechanical energy, driving gears to control the puppets to perform complex movements. This way of using magic made Jiang Feng inexplicably think of the mechanical circuit diagram of the electrical era. In fact, this use of magic already has the rudiments of circuit diagrams.

This can no longer be described by the word genius.

If we continue to develop on this path, even if we rise to the level of great men, it is not an exaggeration.

"Because alchemists are the closest profession to gods other than wizards, and it took me almost five years to get a dancing villain. In their eyes, alchemy products must be powerful tools of war, and at the very least, tools that can bring real-time help to people. Fielding shrugged, "By that standard, my research is really useless. ”

There was a sentence that he didn't say because he was embarrassed. He wasted not only his time and savings, but also the R&D budget allocated to him by the association, and the expectations given to him by the association's president.

"I always thought the closest thing to a god was a priest." Jiang Feng smiled and changed the topic for a moment, easing the atmosphere a little.

Hearing the word priest, Fielding shook his head, a hint of disdain flashed between his eyebrows, and said, "Those people are not, they are just servants of God, and they are not even worthy to kiss God's toes." ”

"Is that okay?"

"Of course no problem, I have the impression that wizards are wise atheists, will you denounce me to the church?" Fielding Owen winked at Jiang Feng.

Seeing that Fielding's mood had almost recovered, and he even had the leisure to joke with himself, Jiang Feng looked at the puppet in his hand and continued to ask: "Although it is a bit unsightly to say this, if you make a life-sized puppet and arm it with armor and swords, can it become a powerful tool of war?" ”

"A puppet is not a witchcraft puppet, it is not destined to be a weapon on a rampage on the battlefield, only a subtle work of art," Fielding shook his head. "Do you know how much money I spent to make this palm-sized puppet? A whole million UBS! Not only did I lose the research money of the association, but I also saved my savings for ten years......"

Jiang Feng smiled noncommittally.

In the short term, this is true, just as when artillery was first invented, it was inferior to some well-made trebuchet. It is unfair to compare a budding technology with a technology that has matured for many years, and the two are unfair at the starting point of comparison.

At least in Jiang Feng's opinion, this kind of puppet technology has much more potential than any war puppet. For example, the inscriptions are made more refined, the inscriptions with different functions are distinguished, and even all the inscriptions that control the puppet are inherited on an "integrated circuit board......

Such a puppet will be infinitely close to a robot.

If we continue to study along this line of thought, even if we point out the technology tree of artificial intelligence, it is not an exaggeration.

Seeing that Hunting Heart was happy, Jiang Feng couldn't help but ask, "Do you have any plans now?" ”

"I'm going to the southern city-states, and my old friends there are going to take me in, and my research can be used not only for puppets, but also for clocks. Thanks to you, if it weren't for the fact that Captain Monkiri and his Jackdaw had died in the belly of the fish, I would have stayed in Warland until the end of the war. ”

"Working for someone?"

Fielding shrugged his shoulders and said, "So to speak. ”

Alchemist is a money-burning profession, and relying on Fielding's own savings alone can make life problematic, let alone continue his research.

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Feng opened his mouth and proposed, "In that case, why don't you consider coming to work with me?" I am very interested in the results of your research, and I will continue to work on your research with me, and I will not only give you a satisfactory salary, but also give you a certain degree of help in the field of witchcraft. ”

"You, are you telling the truth?" Fielding looked at Jiang Feng in surprise.

"Do I look like I'm joking with you?" Jiang Feng smiled.

"No, I didn't mean that," Fielding scratched his head and smiled a little awkwardly, "forgive my presumptuousness, I don't doubt your sincerity, it's just ...... I have never met a wizard as generous as you. ”

Not only Fielding's impression, but also the vast majority of the people of Aditya Continent, and even all the intelligent creatures on the entire road, have a deep-rooted impression of the group of wild wizards.

Especially in the field of knowledge, those wizards are so stingy with knowledge that even the dragons will be dumbfounded. It's no exaggeration to say that if you stole a copy of my notes, I could chase you for half a continent with a staff, and I was the kind that never stopped.

After all, most wild wizards, because they have not received a systematic education, have considerable shortcomings in the field of witchcraft, in short, they are biased. Being learned by others is equivalent to violence. Expose your weaknesses.

As for the wizards of the academy, they are not the ones who will be generous in the field of knowledge, and it is said that even classes and borrowing books need to pay magic stones. The relationship between the mentor and the apprentice has become a pure resource transaction, without the slightest human touch.

Jiang Feng smiled slightly, "Then can I think that you have accepted my proposal?" ”

It would be hypocritical to excuse it again.

Fielding didn't even ask about the treatment, he bowed and said respectfully, "I'm happy to serve you." ”